Music Appreciation Quiz 1

Staff

Five parallel Lines

Measure

Metric grouping of beats, notated on the musical staff with bar lines

Triad

Consisting of three pitches built on alternate notes of the scale

Interval

The distance between any two pitches

Octave

An interval spanning eight notes

Modulation

The process of changing from one key to another.

Transposition

The shifting of a piece of music to a different pitch level

Monophony

single voice or line without accompaniment

Chromatic Scale

Beat

regular pulsation; a basic unit of length in musical time or regular pulse that divides time into equal segments.

Rhythm

what moves music forward in time or the movement of music in time.

Tempo

The speed at which music is or ought to be played, often indicated on written compositions by a descriptive or metronomic direction to the performer.

Scale

Tonic

The first note of the scale

Dynamics

describe the volume, or how loud or soft the music is played. Degree of loudness or softness of a sound

Very Soft

Loud

Mezzo piano

Moderately Soft

Highest voice range of a woman

Lowest voice range of a man

Presto

Very Fast

Pitch

Highness or lowness of a note, depending on the frequency

Frequency

Number of Vibrations Per Second.

Note

A Musical symbol denoting pitch and duration.

Duration

Length of time, of the pitch

Timbre (Tone Color):

The quality of a sound that distinguishes one voice or instrument from another

Melody

a succession of a single pitches that we hear as a recognizable whole

Range

the distance between the lowest and highest notes

Phrase

is a musical unit meaning within larger structure

Cadence

Resting place in a musical Phrase

Climax

The high point in a melodic line

Accent

The emphasis on a beat resulting in its being louder or longer than another in a measure.

Meter

Organization of rhythm in time; the grouping of beats into larger, regular patterns, notated as measures

Downbeat

The first accented beat of each pattern

Duple Meter

basic metrical pattern of two beats to a measure

Upbeat

Last beat of a measure, a weak beat that anticipates the downbeat

Syncopation

deliberate upsetting of the meter or pulse through a temporary shifting of the accent to a weak beat. It is a technique that throws off the regular patterns

Offbeat

in between the stronger beats

Harmony

The simultaneous combination of sounds

Chord

The simultaneous sounding of three or more pitches

Scale

Series of pitches in ascending or descending order

Sharp

raises a note by a half step

Flat

lowers a note by a half step

Key

Defines the pitches in a common center

Texture

refers to the interweaving of the melodic lines with harmony.

Polyphony

a texture in which combining two or more melodic lines

Homophony

one melodic voice is prominent over the accompanying lines or voices

Counterpoint

One line set against another. Polyphonic texture is based on counterpoint

Form

is the organizing principle in music; its basic elements are repetition, contrast, and variation

Variation

The compositional procedure of alternating a pre-exising musical idea

Improvisation

Spontaneous creation

Binary

two part form. A-B

Ternary

three part form. A-B-A

Theme

when a melodic idea is used as a building block in the construction of a larger work

Sequence

restatement of an idea

Motive

short melodic or rhythmic idea

Call and Response

a technique where one musician offers a phrase and a second player answers with a direct commentary or response to the offered phrase

Ostinato

A short melodic, rhythmic, or harmonic pattern that is repeated throughtout a work or a section

Movement

Complete, self-contained part within a larger musical work

Tempo

the rate of speed, or pace of the music

Grave

very, very slow

Largo

very slow

Adagio

slow

Andante

A walking pace

Moderato

moderate

Allegro

Fast

Vivace

Lively

Presto

Very Fast

Molto

very

Meno

Less

Poco

A little

Non troppo

not too much

Accelerando

getting faster

Ritardando

getting slower

A tempo

returning to the original pace

Voice

A human body like our own expressing emotions through sounds and words

Strings

Guitar, violin

Woodwind

flute, clarinet

Brass

trumpet,trombone

Percussion

bass drum,cymbals

Keyboard

organ, piano

Choir

A group of singers who perform together, usually in parts.

Acapella

Choral music performed without instrumental accompaniment.

Chamber Music

Ensemble music for a group of two to about a dozen players, with only one player to a part.

String Quartet

Made up of two violins, viola and cello

Symphony orchestra

an ensemble of strings coupled with an assortment of woodwinds, brass, and percussion instruments.

Conductor

Person who leads performances of music ensembles. Group leader!

Baton

thin stick

Concertmaster

The first-chair violinist

Fugue

A polyphonic form popular in the baroque era

Sacred Music

Religious or spiritual music

Secular Music

Nonreligious music; when there is text, its usually in the vernacular.

pizzicato

plucking strings

legato

playing notes smooth, connected

arpeggio

a type of broken chord in which the notes are played in a rising or descending order

vibrato

The musical effect or technique where the pitch or frequency of a note or sound is quickly and repeatedly raised and lowered over a small distance for the duration of that note or sound

monophonic

Single-voiced; having but one part; ; -- opposed to polyphonic.